"We deeply regret the necessity of today's decision, but we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike," Hostess CEO Gregory F. Rayburn was quoted as saying in a news release from the company. "Hostess Brands will move promptly to lay off most of its 18,500-member workforce and focus on selling its assets to the highest bidders."

The strike began Nov. 9, when Hostess cut workers' wages by 8 percent, along with what union officials said was a benefits cut of 27 to 32 percent. Hostess has been in trouble for years, entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2004 and again in January of this year.

The company's closure means a loss of 18,500 jobs at Hostess' 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers and 570 bakery outlet stores. Product delivery will continue and outlet stores will remain open until all existing stock has been sold.

There was a steady traffic of customers at the company's San Bernardino location on Friday morning.

"I've been coming here with my grandmother since I was a little girl," said Amber Owings of San Bernardino. "Bread is expensive. "I can buy five loaves here to the one loaf at the other stores, like Staters and those other stores."

There was a run on the company's iconic snack cakes, especially Twinkies, at Southern California locations.

"I feel sorry for those people who are losing their jobs, 18,000 people, but I feel like the union could have supported the workers more than they did," said Mike Baldivia of Highland. "I was really after the Twinkies. So I bought Zingers instead."

"My son is sad. He loves (Twinkies)," Robert Hopkins of Riverside said. "I buy them for him all the time. He loves those things."

Economic impact

Hostess officials said they'd sell off its brands, including Hostess and Dolly Madison. Between its various subdivisions, Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Ho Ho's, Sno Balls, Wonder, Nature's Pride, Home Pride, Beefsteak and more.

"The biggest impact is losing 18,000 jobs in America. To me, that's even more important than losing Twinkies, and I love my Twinkies, incidentally," said Jack H. Brown, the CEO of the San Bernardino-based Stater Bros. Grocery stores. "You'd think that in a country where we can send a man to the moon and back that we could find a way to work out our problems."

Hostess driver Fredrico Collymore of Los Angeles learned the news when he got up Friday morning and turned on MSNBC.

"I called my boss immediately," he said.

Collymore has worked at the distribution plant on Figueroa Street near Gardena for 23 years. Several of his family members also have worked for the company through the years, he said.

"Since I've been there, they've been trying to keep it going," he said. "Now they're getting rid of us, they don't have any more money."

The timing, he said, couldn't be worse: "OK, merry Christmas."

He said the company failed to keep up its infrastructure and equipment, which led to its downfall.

"I'm driving a truck that's as old as my oldest child, who's going to be 35 next week," he said.

Some 45 workers were based at the Gardena-area center, Collymore said.

Among them was Ron Quevas of Torrance, who has been a driver there for 32 years.

"You can imagine, we're just kind of shocked," he said. "It's one of those things. It's like being on a plane ride when you have no control."

The company's problems probably won't have much impact on the local economy, said economist William W. Roberts, director of the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center at Cal State Northridge.

"I don't see any kind of a major downturn or major increase in unemployment. But it's going to take time for the (workers) to adjust to where the jobs will be," Roberts said.

The best prospects will be in health care and service industries like retail.

Ron L. Wood, president and CEO of the (San Fernando) Valley Economic Alliance, said the clerks will probably find work faster than the drivers.

"Retail is doing well and the holiday season is abuzz so that could give them the ability to get some short-term work that could develop into long-term work," he said.

The alliance is partnering with the EDD in job training programs and Wood encourages the workers to contact the alliance at 818-379-7000.

Pop culture phenomenon

Hostess' snack cakes and Wonder bread have long been the butt of jokes and a target for nutritionists, who decried a lack of nutritional value in the products.

Urban legends said the preservatives in Twinkies can keep them fresh indefinitely; according to the company, they actually have a shelf life of 25 days.

In 1979, Dan White, who shot and killed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder after his attorneys argued his capacity for rational thought had been diminished, as evinced by the former health nut eating junk foods like Coca-Cola and Twinkies - the so-called "Twinkie Defense."

In recent years, deep-fried Twinkies have become a staple at county fairs around the country.

"I roll it in an egg wash, and then rolled it in a dry, sweet flour," said "Chicken" Charlie Boghosian, whose San Diego-based company deep-fries Twinkies at fairs, including ones in Los Angeles, Pomona, Orange County and San Diego. "So when you bite into it, you can still see the sponge part and still see and taste the cream."

The item is one of the most popular ones on his menu, and Boghosian doesn't think it's going anywhere.

"The Twinkie is an icon, an American icon, just like the hot dog and the hamburger, and I don't see it going any time soon, just because one company is going to file for Chapter 11," Boghosian said.

In fact, he was considering taking it to the next level next summer, with Twinkie Dogs: hot dogs shoved inside a Twinkie, and then deep-fried.

"My gut hunch is that there's no way we won't have Twinkies this summer," he said. "There's just no way that's going to happen."

Twinkies aren't the only Hostess snack cake being mourned by fans: In Victorville, William Miller and his 11-year-old son, Tucker, were on a mission to find Tucker's favorite Hostess snack cakes, Sno Balls.

"We came down here to find Tucker his Sno Balls, but when we got here the place was cleared out," the Apple Valley man said as he stood in line at the Dolly Madison store in Old Town Victorville holding armfuls of chocolate and powdered sugar Donettes. "It's really sad because they've been around for so long."

A few days ago, Tucker's grandfather bought the young boy a few packages if his favorite snacks. The 11-year-old now looks back on that day with some regret.

"If I would've known those were going to be my last Sno Balls I'd ever eat, I would've really enjoyed them," Tucker said.